India Posts struggling to survive with new Produscts

India Posts running at loss.

Struggling hard to survive with new Produscts

Leave Encashment on LTC

Leave Encashment on LTC- some truths

Perhaps one of the most important and exciting right available to the government employees and employees of some private companies is the leave encashment facility, for earned leave along with leave travel concession or LTC, that is the expenses incurred during the leave days.
More often than not this facility is shrouded by many confusions and miscalculations. The following info will give you better clarity on the issue of leave encashment, its meaning, how it is taxed, and is it tax exempt on retirement and on resignation. Also included is the LTC provisions laid down by the Sixth Pay Commission. Read on.
What is leave encashment?
Simply put encashment of the paid leave that you have and which has not been utilized is called 'leave salary.' According to the Sixth Pay Commission's revised LTC provisions, leave travel concession is available to fresh recruits of central government offices and government officers.
The rule states that: "Fresh recruits are allowed to travel to their home town along with their families on three occasions in a block of four years and to any place in India on the fourth occasion. This facility shall be available to the Government officers only for the first two blocks of four years applicable after joining the Government for the first time."
Leave encashment: the tax rules
The tax rules for leave encashment are treated differently depending on the two different instances. One, during your employment tenure, and two while you are leaving the company.
Irrespective of you serving the government or the private sector the leave encashed during your employment tenure will be taxed. But tax rules favour the government employees when the LTC is encashed while leaving the organisation. The entire leave salary is tax-free.
However, if you are employed with the private sector and encash your leave period while leaving the organisation, your leave salary is partly exempted (under Section10(10AA) up to the least of some conditions as mentioned in the Section.
Is the leave encashment exempt from taxes only on retirement?
No. According to Section 10(10AA) which uses the word 'retirement' in a wide sense to include all cases of retirement, whether on superannuation or otherwise, the exemption from taxes to the extent mentioned in the clause is applicable even if you encash your leave salary on retirement or resignation. This clause was enforced in a court judgment in 1997 that ruled in favour of the employee who had resigned from his services and went to claim the leave salary.
Leave encashment along with LTC: how it is calculated
The revised LTC provisions with leave encashment of the Sixth Central Pay Commission say that: "Government officers are allowed to encash ten days earned leave at the time of availing of LTC to the extent of sixty days during the entire career."
Also, while travel entitlements, for the purpose of official tour/transfer or LTC only on vehicles operated by the central/state government or a local body, will be the same, the Rule 12 of the revised LTC provisions has proposed a change that no daily allowance shall be admissible for travel on LTC.
Further the LTC provisions has left unchanged the present inclusion of both husband and wife who are Government servants for availing LTC, which will be encashment of leave equal to 10 days at the time of availing of LTC, subject to a maximum of sixty days each during the career.

India Post declares rebate on gold coins

India Post declares rebate on gold coins

Indian Posts launched a novel scheme for government officials this festival season by announcing that if they buy gold coins from the department they can get a rebate of 6 per cent.For the ongoing festive month, the Post Office department has launched the scheme to give a rebate of 6 per cent on the purchase of gold coins from September 24 till October 24 to all the government officials.Besides this, a scheme for general customers was also launched where 0.5 gm gold would be given free to all those who would purchase 10 gm gold from the post office. To avail this scheme, the customers are required to buy two coins of 5 gm each or a single coin of 8 gm or two coins of 1 gm each. Out of these two schemes a customer can only opt for one.Notably, all across the country the Indian Postal Department along with a private financial firm is selling 24 carat gold coins to all the post offices. The gold coins of weight 0.5 gm, 1 gm, 5 gm and 8 gm are available in post offices. These gold coins are manufactured by Valcambi Switzerland and are 99.99 per cent pure. To beautify them, they are also packed in silver cover.Gold coins are the hottest commodities on sale in India these days. While banks are competing with each other to open counters in their branches to sell gold coins, the postal department in association with brokerage firm Reliance Money and the World Gold Council (WGC) has been introducing novel schemes to sell coins through post offices. Buoyed by the huge success of gold coins sales through post offices, India Post is adding more post offices to step up the trade in the yellow metal. Every month, India Post is launching gold coins trade in new post offices. On Monday, India Post started the services in Jharkhand post circle, covering several post offices. And dozens of people came to the postal outlets to buy gold coins. India is the largest consumer of gold in the world. The approximate consumption of gold in India is around 700 tonnes per year. As per the currency scheme India Post-Reliance Money-WGC scheme, the postal department is selling 0.5 gm, 1 gm, 5 gm and 8 gm gold coins packed in tamper-proof sealed covers. India Post gives training in handling the software, developed by Reliance Money, for handling gold coins sale and transactions. Every customer is being given an invoice or bill detailing the transaction. While India Post earns an amount as commission, Reliance Money bears the service tax on the commission paid to India Post. The stocking and sale of gold coins in the post offices are under the direct supervision of the respective postmasters. The postmaster is required to check the Reliance Money web site on a regular basis for the latest updates of gold rates and discounts. Each coin comes with certification from Valcambi Switzerland and quality packaging, as well as a number and assayer certificate. The gold coins are packed in a sealed cover with the certification from Valcambi, Switzerland with the India Post logo. India Post is offering 5% special discount to its customers during festive seasons and special occasions.

Govt. to open more Branch Post Offices

Govt. to open more Branch Post Offices

Mobiles spell doom for postal dept

Mobiles spell doom for postal dept

Shimla, September 24The advent of cellular phones may have revolutionised communication, especially in a hill state like Himachal, but the postal department has virtually been plunged into a financial crisis with its revenue taking a nosedive.
Majority of the 2,300 post offices in the state are running in a loss. It may sound incredible but the fact is that the post offices in rural areas have not even able to recover an earning of 15 paisa against one rupee spent by the government.
Absence of corporate houses and business establishments in Himachal has further added to the woes of the postal department. The irony is that the main task of the postal department has been reduced to distribution of telephone bills of people, which has hit their services the most. The post offices are mainly dealing in government post and delivering mobile phone bills.
With the BSNL alone having touched a figure of 10 lakh mobile phones in Himachal, postal services have been a major casualty. With people now more into the habit of sending SMSes or making brief calls, writing letters is more or less a thing of the past.
Humera Ahmed, chief post master general of the Himachal circle, admitted that the mobile-phone culture was the main reason for people giving up the habit of writing letters.
“Since in metros there is so much corporate work, postal services are not affected to that extent. However, in rural areas, post offices have very little revenue,” she admitted.
She said according to the proposal at the national level, post offices could start some new schemes, including sale of some products of local people. Citing an example, she said one could order Assam tea or books and other publications of Baba Ramdev through post.
With Himachal having almost 10 lakh mobile phones besides land phones, sale of stamps and envelopes has automatically gone down. Incidentally, Himachal is amongst the top ranked states as far as tele-density is concerned. With a population of over 65 lakh, having 20 lakh mobile phone connection and a sizeable number of land phones, business in post offices has been hit severely.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance entered the 2nd phase of its partnership with India Post

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance entered the second phase of its partnership with India Post in Gujarat.

The company today announced the launch of its new services across all post offices in Gujarat. This move is part of ICICI Prudential Life`s over all growth strategy to strengthen its footprints in Gujarat.
By taking its partnership to the next level with India Post, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance increases penetration in Gujarat; consumers can buy ICICI Prudential Life`s products from any Post Office near them and ICICI Prudential Life increases premium paying touch-points.Also existing ICICI Prudential Life policyholders can pay their premiums at any one of its 47 e-payment enabled post offices across Gujarat
Speaking on the occasion, Tarun Chugh, chief- alternate distribution, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said, ``We have strengthened our partnership with India Post to provide our customers with one stop solution for all their long term saving needs. Through the extensive network of India Post, we will have the opportunity to offer our products spanning life, wealth creation, children`s education, pensions and health along with our value-added services to our customers. We are sure that this move will enhance consumers' overall experience with the brand.``
Karuna Pillai, chief postmaster general, Gujarat Circle, India Post said, ``We are happy to strengthen our partnership with ICICI Prudential Life, India`s leading private life insurer and expand our service portfolio to our customers. Our extensive network of post offices in Gujarat will help the insurance major to penetrate further, where the need for life insurance is growing.``
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has invested significantly towards providing effective life insurance solutions to consumers across India. The company has developed a comprehensive distribution network of small offices and strong advisor force to increase its proximity with consumers from rural India. Through this latest partnership, the company is confident to increase its proximity to consumers across Gujarat and provide them effective life insurance solutions.

Dearness Relief Order for pensioners issued

Dearness Relief Order for Pensioners is issued vide No. F.No.42/12/2009-P&PW(G) of

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ,

Ministry of Personnel,

Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare dtd. 23rd September, 2009

Postal dept to take action against agents

Postal dept to take action against agents

Despite timings being fixed for postal department agents, they are not sticking to them and are creating trouble for customers. The department is all set to take action against them- if any agent is found in the post office before the specified timings, strict action would be taken against him. According to information, the department has fixed one hour- 2 pm to 3 pm for agents, but they are largely available in city post office round the clock. The department has been receiving complaints from customers regarding delay in work. There have been allegations that department employees are entertaining agents on priority basis and a customer has to wait for more than an hour for a cheque’s encashment. A few days back, one such incident came to light wherein a senior citizen and former DDO Gurcharan Singh complained to the chief post master with regard to delay in work. Under Project Arrow, customers can file complaints regarding any inconvenience in postal department, which would be monitored from circle office. In his complaint, Gurcharan said he had been waiting for completion of his work for two hours, but employees did not listen to him and chose to clear work brought in by agents.

Indian post offices to have core banking system

Indian post offices to have core banking system
A Raja rededicates

Parliament street Head Post office

Union Minister for IT and Communication, A Raja, today said post offices in the country will soon begin core banking system."We will shortly begin core banking of post offices saving banks," said the minister after rededicating the Parliament Street head post office to the public under 'Project Arrow'. "Our aim is to change and transform post offices all over the country to be better places for people to go to and where work can be done efficiently," said Raja. The minster assured that around 4000 post offices in the country would be brought under core banking solutions within next three years. 'Project Arrow' envisages upgradation of 500 post offices both in urban and rural areas from 11 circles in terms of physical 'look and feel', conducive and friendly work environment both for staff and the customers visiting the post offices. This will include providing IT enabled services through secure connectivity, improving the service quality levels in the core business area like mails, remittances and postal savings. These 500 post offices would be equipped with modern computer hardware and software required for running daily operations.Modernization work of 50 post offices was to be completed before August 15, 2008, but it could be done only this year. The Department of Posts claims that in Delhi, 36 post offices have undergone complete overhaul in their look and feel as in their core functions and operation. These post offices have been provided with computer hardware and single window service system has been attempted with a view to reduce waiting time for customers. Another 30 post offices are not going to have complete change in their look and feel but their functioning is said to have improved to meet the service norms devised by the department. To improve customer interaction, the post offices employees, particularly the front line staff, have been sensitized and imparted training in soft skills and IT, said the department officials. Raja admitted that the process of modernizing post offices will take time but it is now in the direction in which post offices will be moving for development. "Since there are large number of post offices in the country, including Delhi, we cannot change everything at onces. Plan funds are required and as per availability of funds we could change things in a phased manner. But the gradual change has already begun," said Raja. He said he had recently approved the proposal for setting up of new automatic mail processing centres at Delhi and Kolkata at the cost of Rs 65 crore. New machines will be installed in 10 major cities. The minister has also approved appointment of an IT consultant for India Post for the planning and execution of integrated IT solutions, which will aim to create seamless integration of the postal network. "More than 12,000 post offices in the country have been already computerized. Under the 100 days agenda of the Prime Minister, I have made commitment of behalf of the department for networking of 1,25,000 branch post offices in the rural areas for proving financial as well as state social security schemes," said Raja.

Law to streamline courier service soon

Law to streamline courier service soon

Union Minister for Communications and IT, A Raja, on Monday said steps would be taken to bring about an amen dment to streamline private courier service in the larger interest of the common people.
At a meeting after inaugurating the modernised Mettupalayam Post Office under Project Arrow at Mettupalayam, near here, he said the delay and deficiencies in the delivery of letters and parcels by the private couriers would affect the common people. At present, there was no immediate relief for the delayed delivery and deficiency, he said. Hence, there was a need to streamline the courier service, he said.
Pointing out that India Post was incurring an annual loss of Rs 600 crore, Raja said the unutilised lands of postal department would be used for commercial purposes to earn income to offset the loss.

India Posts' Micro Life Insurance policy.

New

Rural Insurance Scheme with out health checkup

People living in rural parts of the country will soon be able to avail insurance cover without being subject to mandatory health check-ups as is the norm for life insurance policies. The Department of Posts is set to launch a major micro life insurance policy which will no more require the insurers to disclose their present health condition or diseases at the time of buying the policy, a move aimed at expanding the coverage in rural India. The proposed insurance scheme, which can be availed by economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society and particularly women, will provide a risk cover up to Rs 25,000, said an official in the ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The aim is to cover around one-tenth of Indians and become one of the potent players in the Indian insurance sector by easing out the procedural formalities that precedes purchase of any life insurance scheme. While the new scheme has been made customer friendly, the postal department will put in place system and process to address the issue of fake claims. To ensure that relaxation over disclosing the insurer’s health condition does not lead to wrong claims, the claimant has to file a death certificate issued by a government doctor on the deceased’s cause of death, the official said. If the medical report says that the insurer was suffering from any ailment that existed prior to the purchase of the insurance policy, the postal department has an option not to honour the insurance claim. The policy premium will vary according to the age of the insuree and the duration of the policy. India Post expects to cover around 100 million Indians by the end of 2011 under the scheme, this policy is assumed to play a major role in attaining this objective. The move is a part of the initiative taken by India post to put a major thrust on its insurance services and have a strong presence in the insurance sector specially in rural areas,” the official added. Eight million lives and a sum of Rs 40,000 crore have been insured, since the launch of rural postal life insurance scheme launched in 1995, under various policies offered by India Post under the rural postal life insurance. The department also plans to align its investment norms for life insurance policies to pump in part of its daily collections in revenue-generating instruments including stocks, a move which is likely to start from October 1, 2009. With a huge presence in the country with around 1.55 lakh post offices, the postal department is slowly developing itself as a centre for distributing diversified services like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), life insurance and financial solutions to its customers apart from its mail delivery system.

Tax code - Bitter for employees and Butter for rich

Tax code - Bitter for employees and Butter for rich

Government has recently released the DIRECT TAXES CODE BILL, 2009. It is apparent that provisions of this Bill is actually against the interests of the government Employees. But at the same time it is very beneficial to business and affluent community.
As per the bill, the following items are taxable.
Commuted pension, gratuity & VRS emoluments. - The bill says these terminal benefits are exempted from Income tax only if the same are invested in a government approved saving scheme. As we are all aware such investments will have a lock-in period. Again when the said investment is withdrawn, the poor retired employee would land up in trouble as he is liable to pay tax. This is nothing but taking away whatever is due to the employees.
Presently contribution to GPF, LIC, PLI are exempt. Also as per the present income tax law, the final accumulated amount is also tax-free. However, the Bill seeks to amend this exemption provision. As per the proposals, any accumulated amount corresponding to the amount invested from date of enactment of the bill is taxable when the same is withdrawn. On one hand Government is giving paltry 8% on GPF. As the name suggests it is for the provident of an employee. This benefit is taken away now.
The following items which were not part of the income earlier will now become part of the Income.
Value of LTC.
Amount of encashment of un-availed Earned Leave.
Medical Reimbursement
Value of concessional Medical Treatment paid for or provided by the employers
I feel these are only reimbursements for the amount actually spent by the employee. The reason for including these reimbursements as income of the employee is best known only to the brain behind this bill.
Also, there is no mention about deduction of Principal & Interest component of Housing Loan. So, your dream home will ever become a DREAM.
On the other hand, these are all what the business and affluent community gets.
Loses can be carried forward for set off against future income for unlimited years
Wealth tax limit increased to 50 Crores from 30 Lakhs
Rate of wealth tax reduced from 1.0% to 0.25%
Financial assets like Shares, Bonds, etc are to be valued at lower of cost or market value
They can get deduction of any amount towards repair of Plant & Machinery.
The proposed Tax code is inhuman for the reasons that the medical reimbursements are proposed to be treated as income. When business men are allowed deduction towards repair of Plant & Machinery in addition to depreciation, why not the Employees for whom their physical body is their plant & machinery.
I feel the Government is not interested in the savings of the employees. However, for many a decade India is running a deficit Budget and the Government is badly in need of cheap money from the market. The savings schemes such as GPF, PLI etc., provide the government considerable liquidity at a very reasonable interest rate. If the Government wants to treat maturity Benefits of these saving schemes as income, it’s akin to killing the goose, which is laying golden egg every day.
The Government does not want their employees to retire peacefully. An Employee would save the money for retirement in anticipation of fulfilling his/ her dreams. Actually the second life of any person will start after retirement. But Government is not allowing this by treating the retirement benefits as income.
I hope our beloved technocrat Prime Minister MANAMOHAN SINGHJI will look in to the matter & set aside the anomalies created by the tabled DIRECT TAXES CODE BILL, 2009. Hope he will remove tax liability on
Commuted pension
Retirement gratuity
VRS emoluments
Matured value of GPF, LIC, PLI
Value of LTC
Amount of encashment of unavailed Earned Leave.
Medical reimbursement.
Shri.Govardhana Rao.H.S, Superintendent of Customs & Central Excise, Bangalore is the author of this article.

Gaekwad establishes SPCA in association with Postal dept.

Gaekwad establishes SPCA in association with Postal dept.

Vadodara, Sep 19 Former test cricketer, Anshuman Gaekwad announced setting up of 'Speed Post Cricket Academy (SPCA)' in association with Postal Training Centre (PTC), Vadodara for imparting coaching to trained cricketers, coaches, umpires, trainers etc.After two former Indian Test players Mohinder Amaranth and Kiran More set up two such academies in the city, Gaekwad is another player to do so.Talking to PTI today, Gaekwad said "the academy is set up in the picturesque setting at PTC's Mor Baugh cricket ground opp harni civilian airport."The Ground is named after 'Mor, our national bird peacock, as large number of peacocks are found there, said A K Joshi, Postmaster General, Vadodara range of the Post and Telegraph.Joshi told PTI today this ground has all the facilities for hosting cricket tourney of all levels, including Ranji Trophy."We will request the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) authorities and BCCI to stage some of the matches including ranji trophy, under 22, C K Naydu and Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament.Reason behind setting up of this academy at this ground is due to lack of such facilities in surrounding areas, Gaekwad said.

In letter and spirit

In letter and spirit

India Post now has three dedicated freight aircraft based in Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore to ensure 24-hour Speed Post and Parcel Service to the major metros. All three will converge on Nagpur, at one time in the night, to exchange mail and freight.
This reminds of those once much-enjoyed Dakota services that reached Nagpur at midnight from Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta and exchanged not only mail and postal parcels but also intrepid passengers like me who crowded Nagpur’s small airport and had a whale of a time till ‘Boarding’ — a leisurely call — was announced and then you flew in to see dawn slowly lighting the skies as you neared your respective destinations. It was sometime in the 1970s, if memory serves me right, that this service was withdrawn. Now it’s back — but with a difference.
The aircraft will be bigger and faster. And that will enable the Kolkata aircraft to serve both the Northeast and Delhi, the Bangalore aircraft to serve Chennai as well, and the Mumbai aircraft to offer a dedicated service. History always repeats itself — even if there is a variation or two in flight plans.
: It feels good to walk-in now. That’s 50-year-old Delhi-based K Vijayan, who, like most Indians of his generation, has been a post office regular for most of his life. He could perhaps tell as much about the Indian postal service as any of the about 5 lakh employees of the over 150-year-old organisation. He has seen the transformation of India Post from close quarters — from the drab ‘sarkari’ look to the squeaky clean corporate look with the red-and-yellow logo flashing on service counters. “Not that I had any complaints earlier, but now it looks like a private bank.”
Of late, India Post has a new goal — to turn profitable in less than five years. Just last month it announced a $1 bn IT revamp to automate and integrate its business processes. This week in association with Air India it launched two dedicated freighter aircrafts for faster transmission of Speed Post, mail, parcel and logistics across the country, overnight. The successful Project Arrow, launched last year, as part of the department’s infrastructure development programme is in its third phase already. Likewise, the department has been silently entering new arenas and forging new partnerships. How many of us know that India Post has a tie-up with DHL (yes, one of the leaders in global logistics industry). So, every time you book a parcel at your nearby post office — you have the option to reach 200 countries across the world. You can even track your parcel with just one SMS. The organisation is even planning to launch a virtual post office soon — enabling you to book money orders, send articles and do a lot more online. Post office ATMs are also on the cards. Just a few months ago, it tied up with Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation to collect data from 1,183 villages to compile the consumer price index. It already has a tie up with Western Union for incoming payments from abroad. And soon EuroGiro will enable remittances in just an hour.
There’s more. Its vans are even operating on virgin turfs in the north east, armed with GPS devices, so that they can be traced in the event of a Naxal hijack. India Post is also managing over 21 mn NREGA accounts for the Ministry of Rural Development. And now you even have 1,116 customer care centres to address your complaints.

Courier firms take on postal hues to save money

Courier firms take on postal hues to save money

Private courier services are painting themselves in the colours of India Post. That is not because they want inspiration from the government-run service. It is more because having their vehicles painted like postal service vans allows them to avoid paying toll. However, the department is now set to stop this and has asked district authorities to launch a challan drive against such vehicles. Sources said some people working for the service had complained that many of these illegal vehicles were parked near post offices at night, resulting in problems for the department. One of the service’s employees said that last month, a van, which had been painted red and was transporting a consignment, had been found to be that of a private courier company and after that the authorities had decided to take stringent action against such vehichles. This will be part of the departments? Project Arrow, in which, along with revamping facilities, the main emphasis will be on providing better services to the customers. Chief post master PR Kumar said it was a major problem for the department as apart from monetary losses, people were losing confidence due to such discrepancies.

Achievement of Target to earn Revenue

Achievement of Targets to earn Revenue in the Department of Posts-

Do or Die

Modified ACP issue

1) Modified ACP orders issued vide Dte. no. 4-7/MACPS/2009-PCC dated 18-09-2009
a)TBOP/BCR scheme withdrawn w.e.from 01-09-2008
b)Officials upgraded under TBOP/BCR before 01-09-2008,will be placed in the next higher grade pay under MACP-II and MACP-III after completion of 20/30 years of service. (16+4)/(26+4)

2)DA orders issued by Min. of Finance OM no. 1(6)/2009-E-II(B) dated 18-09-2009

GDS pay revision and ACP issue

ACP issue

and

GDS pay revision

1.ACP file is waiting for approval of Secretary(P) .

2.GDS pay commission proposal did not come for discussion in the cabinet on 17-09-2009.

Modified ACP Order

Modified ACP Scheme

The Modified ACP file is now with the DG(P) after due clearance by the JS & FA. The order is expected by this weekend.

GDS file cleared by CEC

It is learnt from reliable sources that the GDS pay revision file was cleared by Election Commission and it may be placed before the Cabinet on 17-09-2009

India Post adds 2 more freighter aircraft

India Post adds 2 more freighter aircraft

India Post, in a strategic tie-up with Air India, on Sunday launched two dedicated freighter aircraft for faster transmission of Speed Post, mail, parcel and logistics across the country. The number of aircraft available with the Department of Post (DoP) for its exclusive use has gone up to three. The DoP already has an exclusive aircraft for services in the North Eastern region. The NE freighter has now been linked up with the national network and all the three freighters would arrive at the hub — Nagpur for exchange of mail every night and would return to their base cities soon after.
Union Minister for Communication and IT, A Raja, flagged off the aircraft. Minister of State for Communications and IT, Sachin Pilot and Secretary, DoP, Radhika Doraiswamy and top officials of Air India were also present.
After flagging off the aircraft, Raja said several new initiatives were being taken to reinvent the DoP in tune with the globalised changes. As part of the initiative, the freighter aircraft were being inducted that would put in place a faster and reliable mode of system for carriage of consignments from ordinary letters to perishable cargos. Post offices (PO) were being modernised under Project Arrow and 1,000 more POs will be developed.
At a cost of Rs 65 crore, new Automatic Mail Processing Centres would be set up in Delhi and Kolkata to be followed by centres in Chennai and Mumbai. New sorting machines will be installed in 10 major cities.
A group of experts was appointed to recommend ways to make all the 1.5 lakh post offices in the country IT enabled and the experts’ report is likely soon. To facilitate quick money transfer from any place in the world to India and out of the country, a new plan, ‘EuroGiro’ will be launched in October in Chennai. This will enable remittances in just an hour. Radhika Doraiswamy told reporters IT major Accenture has been appointed consultant to network and upgrade post offices in the country. In a phased manner, post offices will be brought under Core Banking solutions.
Source-Express News Service

DOP to put on stamp of efficiency with Project Arrow news

India Post to put on stamp of efficiency with Project Arrow news

The Indian postal department is trying to keep pace with the growing Indian econoy by bringing in more professionalism to its services. The age old 'dakiya' will soon don a corporate uniform and smile for a change, or almost so if Project Arrow, now in progress, takes off. The project was launched on August 18 by the department of posts, or India Post, to make itself an efficient and responsible service provider that would benefit the customers.Under the scheme's first major thrust, 50 post offices have been earmarked for the implementation of Project Arrow in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.The project would eventually cover 500 post offices in the country. The branding too has been revamped, from a static wing logo to a moving one. As part of its objective, the scheme would aim at making the post office an interface with the larger world.

Bonus Discrimination continues.........

Bonus Discrimination continues.........

Bonus to be paid on monthly ceiling for

Rs 3500/- to Regular employees.

And Rs.2500/- to Gramin Dak Sevaks

Eurogiro facility in Postal Department

Eurogiro facility in Postal Department

The 'Eurogiro' facility for direct remittance of money worldwide through post offices would be launched in Chennai by October this year, Union IT Minister A Raja said here today.
Preliminary works have been completed and it would be launched in October after testing of the software, he said."Eurogiro will enable people in India send money to their relatives in any part of the world in just one hour", he said, after launching three dedicated India Post Freighter aircraft.Eurogiro is a global network of banks and financial institutions.Raja also said the Department has approved a proposal to set up new automatic mail processing centres at Delhi and Kolkata at a cost of Rs 65 crore. Similar centres at Chennai and Mumbai would soon get state-of-the-art machines, he said.These machines would also be installed at 10 other major cities, Raja said.
(Agencies)

Higher Pay to perform higher duties

Higher Pay for higher duties

In a landmark judgement Hon'ble CAT,Jabalpur pronounced that :

When A Postal employee ordered to perform higher duties even if he is not eligible to hold that post,by a written order is entitled for emoluments of the higher post and if retires while working in that post,he is entitled for pensionary benefits based on emoluments at the time of retirement.

Bonus and DA for Centarl Govt.Employees

POOJA GIFT

Bonus and addl. DA for Central Govt.Employees

Span Communications to advertise for India Post

Span Communications wins advertising mandate for India Post

Following a multi-agency pitch, Span Communications has won the creative and media mandates for India Post. The agency will have the account for the next two years. The size of the account is estimated at Rs 50 crore. Ogilvy India is the incumbent agency on the account. Agencies like Adfactors, Crayons, Dentsu, Euro RSCG, Grey Worldwide, Mercantile, Percept, Prabhatam, Pressman and Sobhagya were in the fray for the prestigious account.Naresh Kheterpal, chief executive officer, Span Communications, says the agency will be working towards strengthening the brand identity of India Post. On the media mix, he says, "A suitable mix of traditional and new age media, primarily led by TV and the Internet, along with other below-the-line activities will be used.""To build the brand and promote its various services, the agency will focus on bringing a perceptive change among the target audience by strengthening India Post's image. On the agency front, we have clearly chalked out our expansion and diversification plans with launch of our 'Film Production' and 'corporate gifting' divisions." Kheterpal says.It may be noted that India Post has gone in for a makeover in the same period last year. It had launched its new logo on September 23, 2008; which is displayed across all post offices and postal services in the country. Ogilvy India had done an exceptional work on the new branding of India Post; and management consultant McKinsey was behind the restructuring of the Department of Posts (DoP).The positioning statement, 'Giving Wings to Your Dreams', summarises the philosophy of India Post. With the world moving to faster modes of communication with the Internet, private courier services and mobile telephony, India Post faces stiff competition. Span Communications recognises the crisis and believes that it has its task cut-out.The DoP has decided to launch a service that will offer overnight delivery of parcels and logistics consignments in major metros across the country using its very own dedicated fleet of aircraft. For India Post, running such a service can be cost-effective simply due to the scale of its operations.For the record, with more than 1,55,000 post offices covering the urban and rural populace, the Indian postal network is the largest in the world. On an average, India Post handles 1.9 crore post consignments across India per month. Against this, other couriers are estimated to handle an average 0.5-0.7 crore consignments per month.

GDS and ACP issue

GDS and ACP issue

1.GDS pay commission listed in the Cabinet Agenda has not come for discussion on 10-09-2009. Next cabinet meeting will be on 17.09.09.

2.ACP file has not been cleared by JS & FA till today as she is away from Delhi. Expected before Puja.

60 days Productivity Linked Bonus for Postal Staff

60 days Productivity Linked Bonus for Postal Staff

Orders issued vide Dte. Memo No. 26-14/2009-PAP 11th September,2009 regarding payment of 60 days Productivity Linked Bonus for Postal staff for the financial year 2008-09.

The ceiling for regular staff is Rs.3500/- and GDS staff is Rs.2500/-

Fake Notes found in Post Office Counters

Fake Notes found in Post Office Counters

Increase in Dearness Allowance

Increase in Dearness Allowance

All Central Govt.Employees and Pensioners will get 5% increase in Dearness Allowance i.e. 27% D.A. w.e.from 01-07-2009.

At present the DA rate is 22% from 01-01-2009

Studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya became Costlier

Fees increased by

up to three times

in Central Schools

Studying in Central schools will now be costlier as the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghthan has increased the fees by up to three times from October.HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today defended the new fee regime on the ground of the monthly allowance of up to Rs 1000 per child being given to the central government employees."Under the 6th Pay Commission, the government is giving up to Rs 1000 as monthly allowance per child for maximum two children. Even after the increase, the fee is less than Rs 1000 in the KVs. So the parents would not face any problem," he said.However, children from BPL families and girls will be exempted from paying any fee.As per the new fee regime, science students in class XII will have to pay Rs 800 monthly towards tuition, computer charges and campus development.
Source-PTI

No work-Full pay

Paid to do nothing :
Mail volume decreasing -11,000 plus US postal workers idle

The U.S. Postal Service, struggling with a massive deficit caused by plummeting mail volume, spends more than a million dollars each week to pay thousands of employees to sit in empty rooms and do nothing.
It’s a practice called “standby time,” and it has existed for years — but postal employees say it was rarely used until this year. Now, postal officials say, the agency is averaging about 45,000 hours of standby time every week — the equivalent of having 1,125 full-time employees sitting idle, at a cost of more than $50 million per year.
Mail volume is down 12.6 percent compared with last year, and many postal supervisors simply don’t have enough work to keep all employees busy. But a thicket of union rules prevents managers from laying off excess employees; a recent agreement with the unions, in fact, temporarily prevents the Postal Service from even reassigning them to other facilities that could use them.
So they sit — some for a few hours, others for entire shifts. Postal union officials estimate some 15,000 employees have spent time on standby this year.
They spend their days holed up in rooms — conference rooms, break rooms, occasionally 12-foot-by-8-foot storage closets — that the Postal Service dubs “resource rooms.” Postal employees use more colorful names, like “holding pens” and “blue rooms.”
“It’s just a small, empty room. … It’s awful,” said one mail processing clerk who has spent four weeks on standby time this summer. “Most of us bring books, word puzzles. Sometimes we just sleep.”
Employees interviewed said they hate the practice, which relegates them to hours of boredom each day. Postal managers don’t like it, either — but they say declining mail volume makes it necessary.
“Volume has dropped, we don’t get the same mail receipts we used to get, and our overtime is already pretty much nil,” said Edward Jackson, the plant manager at the mail processing facility in Washington, D.C. “But we still have to keep them in a pay status. So we put them in the standby rooms.”
‘The employees resent it’
Standby time has mostly affected employees represented by the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), which represents roughly 220,000 full-time postal employees, mostly clerks and maintenance workers at post offices and large processing centers. The Postal Service’s collective bargaining agreement with APWU includes a no-layoff clause for employees with more than six years on the job. It also includes a guarantee of eight hours’ pay for eight hours’ work.
Lately, though, supervisors have been forced to stretch the definition of work.
“They just instruct employees to report to these holding areas,” said William Burrus, APWU’s president. “The employees resent it. ... They can’t work, they can’t read, they just sit there.”
The employees are still available to work; Some spend a few hours on standby and then move back to the floor when a shipment of mail arrives.
But others clock in, report to the resource rooms, and clock out eight hours later — never once interacting with customers or touching a piece of mail.
Letter carriers haven’t been affected by standby time. That’s partly because the delivery network keeps growing, by 1.5 million addresses each year, and partly because the Postal Service recently consolidated delivery routes, eliminating more than 2,000 city carrier positions.
Employees are often forbidden from doing almost anything while on standby time. In some facilities, the employees aren’t allowed to do anything they couldn’t normally do on the job. That means no books, no playing cards, no watching television.
“We want to make sure they uphold the rules and regulations of the Postal Service,” Jackson said. “So we try to rein them in while they’re in those rooms.”
Nor can supervisors require employees to brush up on their training. One mail handler in Pennsylvania said a supervisor used to force employees on standby time to read postal manuals.
“The local union shop filed a grievance against the Postal Service,” said the employee, who asked to remain anonymous because of concerns about retaliation. “We’re on standby time, not training time. Standby time is different. ... You can’t make people read training materials on standby time.”
Several mail handlers said that recently — after weeks or months of standby time at their mail processing facilities — supervisors started allowing employees to break the rules and read or play cards.
“We’re just sitting in an empty conference room. It’s not even a break room,” complained one clerk in Fort Myers, Fla. “But at least when I’ve been in there I’ve been able to read my own books.”
A union local elsewhere in Florida installed a television in a resource room to provide some entertainment for employees.
A growing problem
It’s impossible to say how many resource rooms exist around the country. Neither the Postal Service nor the unions keep track of them at a national level. It’s clearly a national problem, though: Federal Times interviewed employees from more than a half-dozen states, from New York to Texas, who have been placed on standby time.
The problem is worst in Florida, because mail volume has fallen much faster than the national average. Several regions in Florida have reported drops as high as 18 percent compared with last year.
Standby time is allowed under the Postal Service’s collective bargaining agreements with its workers. But union leaders say it is supposed to be an occasional, unplanned event, a way to fill a couple of hours at the end of a slow day. The Postal Service agrees; officials say standby time was supposed to be used sporadically — and only for a few hours at a time, not for entire shifts.
Postal workers say that provision is routinely ignored. Sam Wood, the president of the APWU local in southwest Florida, said 58 employees from the Fort Myers processing facility — roughly 10 percent of its workforce — have been told they will be placed on standby until they can be reassigned to another facility. Employees say it will likely be months until that reassignment happens.
The Postal Service says it has no choice but to use standby time because of its union contracts. Postal workers suspect otherwise. Some say they believe management wants them to resign in protest; others think the Postal Service will try to eliminate the no-layoff clause in the next round of contract talks slated for next year.
“I think they’re trying to prove that they don’t need people in the stations,” Wood said. “Management says, ‘We can do without these employees.’ ”
Standby time, for now, is largely confined to mail processing facilities — though it is beginning to spread to retail post offices. The three post offices in Key West, Fla., employ 27 people. But under a schedule recently drafted by postal supervisors, 15 of them would spend at least part of their week on standby time.
“Not everybody will be in there for the whole day, but the majority of [the 15 people] will spend most of the day in there,” said Jack Baldwin, a window clerk at the Key West post office.
Postal supervisors in Key West — like several other supervisors around the country — did not respond to requests for comment.
Standby time has also been used, albeit rarely, as a form of punishment. Bob Patterson, an APWU union steward in Oregon, said an employee was put on standby time earlier this year for three or four hours a day as punishment for complaining about working conditions. The punishment lasted several months; the resource room, in this employee’s case, was a 12-by-8 storage closet.
“There was productive work she could be performing,” Patterson said.
Trimming the workforce
Managers say standby time is a response to falling mail volume — and the fact that there are simply too many employees.
They’ve been trying to trim the workforce for more than a year, offering four rounds of early retirements since the beginning of 2008. And on Aug. 25, the Postal Service announced $15,000 buyouts for all employees willing to leave, including those not yet eligible for retirement. The Postal Service, which currently employs 636,000 full-time employees, is hoping as many as 30,000 workers will accept the offer.
“Thirty thousand employees, that’s how much we’re overstaffed,” said Mark Saunders, a spokesman for the Postal Service. “That’s a big reason behind our incentives. … The majority of the employees who are asking to leave right now, they work in our [mail processing plants],” the same facilities that have problems with standby time.
The Postal Service, which is facing a $7 billion deficit this year, is taking a number of increasingly desperate measures to cut costs. Management is on pace to cut 100 million work hours this year. The agency is under a nationwide hiring freeze. And Postmaster General John Potter has asked Congress for permission to switch to five-day mail delivery.
Union leaders admit the Postal Service has too many employees — and they’re hopeful the recent buyout offer will lead to a cutback in standby time.
Standby time “is clear evidence that we have a surplus of employees,” Burrus acknowledged. “I hope our people accept the buyouts.”
Postal supervisors can sometimes avoid standby time through reassignments, a practice called “excessing.” But that practice has been suspended until Oct. 9 under the terms of the buyout agreement between the Postal Service, APWU, and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.
That means even more postal employees are likely headed for standby rooms. Employees at the mail processing facility in Lakeland, Fla., for example, say 20 to 25 employees will be serving standby time for the next few months. The Postal Service is trying to consolidate the Lakeland facility with one in nearby Tampa; the employees on standby in Lakeland will eventually be reassigned to other facilities.
One clerk at the facility said the employees have been told “they will not be allowed to listen to personal audio devices, no reading of non postal materials, and that talking will be at a minimum.”
Standby time is likely to become an issue on Capitol Hill once Congress returns from its recess this week: Jenny Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the committee “will look into [these] concerns.”
Source-federal times

India Post with Corporate Image & IT Compatible

India Post set for Corporate Image & IT Compatible

India Post is set for a makeover with a slew of initiatives to give it a corporate image and make it information technology compatible, ranging from ATM service in post offices and acquiring cargo aircraft of its own to investing postal insurance funds in the market.
Speaking to presspersons after inaugurating the modernised General Post Office here on Monday, Radhika Doraiswamy, Secretary (Posts), Government of India, said that starting October 1, funds collected under Postal Life Insurance (PLI) would remain with India Post and would not be moved to the Ministry of Finance like earlier.
This fund will be invested in the market, as directed by a board constituted to take care of the safety of public money. State Bank of India and UTI Bank have been appointed fund managers, said Ms. Doraiswamy.
ATMs in post offices
Explaining the other initiatives, she said that post offices in towns and cities would soon have ATMs. The department had appointed Accenture to provide technology solutions. This, said Ms. Doraiswamy, was part of the Prime Minister’s 100-day programme.
The ATM service will be available in seven post offices in six cities in Karnataka in the first phase of implementation, including two in Bangalore.
The ATM service will be available at the General Post Office and the RT Nagar Post Office in Bangalore, and the main post offices in Gulbarga, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli and Bijapur. This facility is likely to be available by January next year.
Railway booking facility will also be provided in 5,000 post offices.
Ms. Doraiswamy said that India Post would acquire two aircraft of its own to improve cargo services. This, she said, would decrease its dependence on Air India and other operators.
Eurogiro network
In another significant move, India Post will join the Eurogiro, a payment remittance network linked to post offices, banks and financial institutions in 50 countries. India Post will be the first organisation in the country to join the network. It will be operational in a month, said Ms. Doraiswamy.
“All these measures will generate trust in the postal department, which has slightly eroded in the recent past,” she said. As many as 9,000 vacant posts will be filled soon, she added.
Hindu

Modernisation of Postal Department

Modernisation of Postal Department

Mysore head post office became one of the 58 post offices being brought under the ‘Project Arrow Phase III’ of India Post in Karnataka
The technology-driven new-look post offices, with multi-purpose counters, was inaugurated by Vasumitra, post master general, South Karnataka region, yesterday.
Project Arrow aims to increase customer footfall by revitalising the postal department. Launched this month, 30 post offices in the state have already received a facelift. They will be inaugurated before the middle of this month.
Besides being upgraded and modernised with computerised multipurpose counters which has given the post office a swanky look, efforts have been made to improve customer service by training staff in customer relationship management and introduction of new services for faster and better service.
Vasumitra said, the project, aimed at improving the quality of service by being IT-enabled and also by providing better infrastructure with customer-driven focus. The multi-purpose counters are meant to manage customer demands faster and better.
The slew of new services being introduced included faster dispatch of passport applications, providing UPSC and KPSC application forms, e-tickets, sale of gold coins, insurance and financial services to effectively face competition and to respond to market forces quickly and efficiently so that the department repositions itself to become self-sufficient.
The post offices at Lashkar and Saraswathipuram are the other two places in Mysore city being covered by the Project Arrow. Each post office was being upgraded at a cost of Rs 8 lakh and 550 post offices were proposed to be given the face lift under the project, he said.
India Post operated a three exclusive aircraft touching some major cities in the country, including Bangalore, for overnight delivery of mails, speed-post and parcels through dedicated service.

source-Business standard

ATM servie in Post Offices

Renovation of Postal Service

The next time you visit Bangalore General Post Office (GPO), you won't have to wait in a long queue for hours or run from one counter to another. To get your work done, all you need is a token and patience as you wait on a cushioned chair for your turn. The new-look GPO was inaugurated on Monday by Radhika Doraiswamy, secretary of the department of posts; the programme was developed under `Project Arrow Phase III'. Accordingly, 13 counters in the front hall will be driven by technology and become multipurpose. Employees will also be trained on customer relations. The good news is these facilities won't be restricted to the GPO alone. Fifty-eight post offices across Karnataka -- 17 in Bangalore -- are part of the project, while 30 have already got a new look. Renovation is happening in the postal service in a massive scale. India Post and Accenture signed an agreement last week under which the latter will develop a single software to replace 20 existing ones. This software will connect all post offices across India. Three automatic machines to sort mails and perform other tasks will be bought; Rs 80 crore has been earmarked for this. To ensure speedy delivery of mails in large numbers, India Post has introduced three flights, with a fourth one set to join in soon. "Inefficiency is due to lack of staff (in India Post). We have cleared 9,000 vacancies to solve this problem. India Post will wear a new look with more and more young people joining it," said Radhika. A chief insurance officer has been appointed to invest funds directly. Even post offices in rural areas will be computerized and ATM cards issued. "We will reclaim the lost glory of India Post. Decrease in quality wasn't only due to slow pace of modernization but also a result of inefficient services. It's time we bounced back," Radhika pointed out. "A recent World Bank report revealed that Gross Domestic Product will increase marginally if quality of postal service is improved," she added. According to Karnataka chief post master general M P Rajan, the department has always thrived to take up new challenges. "In fact, we're competing with ourselves to raise the bar," he summed up.

source-TOI

Calendar for departmental examination-2009

The Postal Dte. in memo no. A-34012/05/2008 DE dated 31-08-2009 and 07-09-2009 has issued the calendar for Departmental Examination.
LGO to PA/Sa cadre-
date of submission of application by candidates= 05-10-2009
date of examination=06-11-2009
IPO examination-2009
Date of examination= 4-1-2010 to 6-1-2010

Hon,be CAT quashed the orders of Penalty

S­ev­en em­­p­loy­ees­ c­harged wi­th negli­genc­e i­n f­raud c­as­e exem­­p­ted f­rom­­ p­enalty­

The Honourable Cent­ra­l A­dm­inist­ra­t­ive T­ribuna­l (CA­T­),Chandigarh h­a­s qua­sh­ed t­h­e o­rders p­a­ssed by­ t­h­e Po­stal­ Depar­tm­ent, dire­ctin­g­ s­e­ve­n­ of its­ e­m­p­loy­e­e­s­ p­os­te­d a­t Ja­la­n­dha­r to p­a­y­ p­e­n­a­lty­ run­n­in­g­ in­to la­k­hs­. The­s­e­ e­m­p­loy­e­e­s­ we­re­ cha­rg­e­d with n­e­g­lig­e­n­ce­ in­ a­ ca­s­e­ of fra­ud whe­re­ s­e­ve­ra­l la­k­hs­ of rup­e­e­s­ ha­d be­e­n­ fra­udule­n­tly­ with­dra­wn­ by­ a­ s­ub-p­os­tm­a­s­te­r a­t the­ P­a­dia­n­a­ p­os­t office­. The­ s­ub­ p­os­tm­a­s­te­r is­, howe­ve­r, n­o lon­g­e­r a­live­.
The­ a­p­p­lica­n­ts­, A­n­u Ba­la­ a­n­d othe­rs­, in­ the­ir s­e­p­a­ra­te­ a­p­p­lica­tion­s­ be­fore­ the­ Hon’ble CA­T, ha­d s­ta­te­d tha­t the­ir p­le­a­s­ we­re­ ba­s­e­d on­ com­m­on­ fa­cts­. A­n­u Ba­la­ ha­d s­ta­te­d tha­t in­ Jun­e­ 2006, s­he­ wa­s­ de­p­loy­e­d in­ the­ s­a­vin­g­ ba­n­k­ s­ub-office­ bra­n­ch a­n­d 10-12 m­ore­ p­e­rs­on­s­ on­ ove­rtim­e­ ba­s­is­ work­e­d with he­r for cle­a­rin­g­ the­ p­e­n­din­g­ work­ . Howe­ve­r, in­ 2008, s­he­ wa­s­ is­s­ue­d a­ cha­rg­e­s­he­e­t s­ta­tin­g­ tha­t s­he­ ha­d fa­ile­d to g­e­t the­ ba­la­n­ce­ ve­rifie­d from­ the­ re­cords­ a­n­d did n­ot com­p­a­re­ the­ s­ig­n­a­ture­s­ of the­ de­p­os­itor on­ the­ withdra­wa­l form­.
It wa­s­ a­lle­g­e­d tha­t s­he­ did n­ot com­p­a­re­ the­ re­cords­ of withdra­wa­l from­ the­ P­a­dia­n­a­ p­os­t office­, re­s­ultin­g­ in­ m­is­a­p­p­rop­ria­tion­ of fun­ds­.It wa­s­ a­lle­g­e­d tha­t Rs­ 18.56 la­k­h ha­d be­e­n­ fra­udule­n­tly­ withdra­wn­ from­ va­rious­ p­os­t office­ a­ccoun­ts­ in­ 2006. La­te­r, the­ p­os­ta­l a­uthoritie­s­ im­p­os­e­d a­ p­e­n­a­lty­ of recovery on­ s­e­ve­n­ e­m­p­loy­ees­, ra­n­g­in­g­ from­ Rs­ 2.44 la­k­h to Rs­ 30,000.
The­ a­p­p­lica­n­ts­ p­le­a­de­d be­fore­ the­ Hon’ble CA­T tha­t the­ s­o-ca­lle­d m­is­a­p­p­rop­ria­tion­ wa­s­ com­m­itte­d by­ s­ub-p­os­tm­a­s­te­r Cha­n­de­r P­a­rk­a­s­h K­hura­n­a­, who wa­s­ n­o m­ore­. The­y­ s­a­id the­ de­p­a­rtm­e­n­t ha­d n­owhe­re­ cha­rg­e­d the­m­ with m­is­a­p­p­rop­ria­tion­ of fun­ds­ or doubte­d the­ir in­te­g­rity­. The­ on­ly­ cha­rg­e­ a­g­a­in­s­t the­m­ wa­s­ tha­t the­y­ we­re­ n­e­g­lig­e­n­t a­n­d did n­ot com­p­a­re­ or ve­rify­ the­ s­ig­n­a­ture­s­ on­ withdra­wa­l form­s­ with p­os­t office­ re­cords­, the­y­ a­dde­d. The­ p­e­tition­e­rs­ s­a­id the­y­ we­re­ n­ot s­up­p­lie­d the­ re­cords­ of the­ s­a­id p­os­t office­s­ a­n­d tha­t whe­n­ -the­ form­s­ re­a­che­d the­m­, the­ fra­ud ha­d a­lre­a­dy­ be­e­n­ com­m­itte­d.
A­fte­r he­a­rin­g­ the­ a­rg­um­e­n­ts­ of both the­ s­ide­s­, the­ Hon’ble CA­T be­n­ch m­a­in­ta­in­e­d tha­t it could be­ ca­lle­d a­ p­roce­dura­l la­p­s­e­.

S­OURCE­-HT

Recovery of Income Tax from 2nd installment Arrear

Clarification regarding deduction of tax at source from payments of second installment of arrears to Government employees on account of implementation of Sixth Central Pay Commission’s recommendations has been issued vide Circular No. 6/2009, dated 31-8-2009.

Income Tax Rates –Revision required?

Income Tax Rates –Revision required?

The governments around the world may consider funding their increasing deficits by hiking personal income tax rates, though India may not be one among those, with the tax rates in the country nearly constant over the last seven years. The highest tax rate applicable on an income of over Rs 5,00,000 per annum stands at 30 per cent in India. While, this rate has remained unchanged for the last seven years in the country but several nations have witnessed a decline in these rates, said a tax survey by global financial consultancy firm KPMG. “While the trend has been a general decline in rates over the past seven years, there are preliminary indicators that a reversal may be on the way,” said the report. This year itself Ireland introduced the income levy where higher rates are charged at income levels over 250,120 Euro. Also, next year the UK budget is slated to raise the highest personal income tax rate to 50 per cent on income of over 150,000 Great Britain Pounds, said the report.
Even in the United States there are speculations that the top tax rates may be increased, it said. However, it also added that the reversal trend in income tax rates may also create other pitfalls like how much high income earners should spend on goods and services and others.
Among those countries with high tax rates are Denmark with the highest personal income tax rate at 62.3 per cent.

Singing Postman remembers his route fondly

The singing postman
Hennessey remembers his route fondly

For a greater part of four decades, even a stranger could tell the ethnic makeup of a neighborhood along Bayonne’s east side just by listening to James Hennessey sing. He would sing or whistle along his route, often reflecting the neighborhood he was in by singing songs connected to the ethnicity of the people living there.From the late 1940s to the early 1980s, Hennessey traveled along Avenue F and Prospect Avenue delivering people’s mail.He lived up to the old United States Postal Service motto because he never let the weather stop him.“If it was a Polish neighborhood, I sang Polish songs. If it was Irish, I sang Irish,” he recalled during an interview earlier this summer after he was honored for celebrating his 60th year as a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers Union.Sitting in the post office with former colleagues last June, Hennessey recounted many of his adventures, exploits with strange pets, and the one time he got so wet from trying to “walk between the rain drops” that one local cleaner dried his clothing for him.But what he remembers best are the people, still able to associate an address with a name. Many of them were public figures that became councilmen, mayors, or even congressmen. But most of the people he met on his route were ordinary people, and most of them were glad to see him when he came. Many recognized his voice and the songs he sang as he walked those long blocks.
Source-newsreporter

Postal Dept to distribute New Pension System

Postal Dept and some Banks to distribute New Pension System

To distribute the nascent New Pension System on a larger scale, interim pension regulator PFRDA is likely to rope in the postal department and five to six more banks, including PNB and Standard Chartered Bank for collecting contributions of subscribers.
"In a month or so, the names of 5-6 banks, including Punjab National Bank, Vijaya Bank, Syndicate bank, Standard Chartered Bank and the postal department are likely to be notified as Points of Presence," a Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) official told PTI.
The official further said the postal department has shown interest in joining the NPS as a PoP and the PFRDA is having discussions with them. The request from these banks has also come.
PoPs are contact and collection points for customers wanting to be part of NPS.
Currently, there are 21 NPS PoPs which include, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Axis Bank and Union Bank of India.
Despite being launched four months ago, NPS has not made much headway.
Its distribution received a big blow after the country's largest insurer, Life Insurance Corp (LIC), ceased to be a PoP in May following a directive from the sectoral regulator IRDA. Source

Commemorative stamp on the Silent Valley

Commemorative stamp on the Silent Valley

“The Department of Posts will issue a commemorative stamp on the Silent Valley on November 15. The stamp is being issued as a mark of respect to the former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, who took the crucial decision to protect the valley, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of declaration of Silent Valley as a National Park. Kerala Minister for Forests Benoy Viswam had written to the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja two months ago seeking the issuance of a stamp to coincide with the occasion.”

Deduction of Income Tax from 2nd inst.(60%) Arrear

Clarification regarding deduction of tax at source from payments of second installment of arrears to Government employees on account of

implementation of Sixth Central Pay Commission’s recommendations.
Circular No. 6/2009, dated 31-8-2009

Under the provisions of Section 192 of the Income-tax Act, an employer is required to deduct tax at source from any payments in the nature of salary, which inter alia also includes any arrear payments. The Implementation Cell of the Department of Expenditure, Govt of India, vide its Office Order dated 30th Aug’ 08 had stated that 40% of the aggregate arrear (first installment of arrears) would be payable during FY 2008-09. In Circular No. 09/2008 dated 29th Sept. 2008 issued from this office it was stated that during 2008-09 the tax has to be deducted at source on this 40% of aggregate arrear during FY 2008-09. The OM,F.No-1//1/ 2008-IC, of the Implementation Cell of the Department of Expenditure, Govt of India, vide its order dated 25th August, 2009 has stated that the remaining 60% of the aggregate arrear ( second installment of arrears) would be paid to the concerned Government servants during FY 2009-10. Such arrangements could be followed by State Governments also. In this regard, all the DDOs and PAOs as the case may be, in the Central/State Government and various organizations under them are advised to compute the correct tax liability of every employee on second installment of arrears drawn by him and immediately recover the full tax liability along with education cess thereon at the rates in force. The deduction of tax at source on such arrear payment should not be deferred in any circumstance. They should further ensure that the tax so recovered is paid to the account of Central Government account immediately as per the Income Tax Rules, 1962. The DDOs/PAOs are further advised that they should ensure that the PAN details of the deductees (recipient of arrears) are correctly quoted in the relevant quarterly e-TDS returns filed by them so that the Government Servants get proper credit of their tax deducted in their respective income tax returns.
DDOs/PAOs who fail to comply with the provisions of Section 192 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 would be liable to pay interest under section 201(1)/(1A) of Income Tax Act along with other penal consequences.

Computer Training at PTC,Darbhanga

Postal Employees at the verge of their retirement are directed to undergo Training at PTC, Darbhanga.Will it serve the purpose to expectations?

2nd installment of 6 CPC Arrear -released and paid

2nd installment (60%) of 6th CPC arrear released and paid by different ministry/department